Ladyarli

Hello Danish Viking,

Can you please recommend a good place (not too expensive) to have dinner that is near Tivoli Gardens or Town Hall Square? Thank you for all of your help and advice. I'm sure we all appreciate it!

Hello I-Cruiser,

I hope you are having a wonderful time on your cruise. When you come back, I would love your opinion about which shore excursions to take. We are very excited to be taking a cruise of the Norwegian Fjords in August on the Serenade of the Seas. When going through the possible excursions in both Bergen and Stavanger, we couldn't decide.

In Bergen, we are debating between:

1. "Troldhaugen, Old Bergen and Fish Market". The description says we will drive past Haakon's Hall, Rosenkrantz Tower, and Bryggen. "See" the Fish and Flower Market, City Park and Grieg concert hall. "Visit" Troldhaugen and Old Bergen Museum.

2. "Troldhaugen, Fantoft Stave Church and City Sightseeing". In the description it looks like we "visit" Troldhaugen and the stave church, but we "drive by" Bryggen.

The second tour is 1/2 hour longer and only $4 more. It looks like the difference is a choice between seeing the stave church or seeing the Old Bergen Museum.

We love history, particularly history of the Viking Era, middle ages, or the renaissance. My husband also is very interested in anything about WWII.

In Stavanger, we are torn between:

1. "City Sightseeing with Iron Age Farm". Visit the iron age farm, photo stop at the Ullandhaug viewpoint, then stroll through Old Stavanger.

2. "City Sightseeing & Utstein Monastery". Stavanger Cathedral, Utstein Monastery, and stroll through Old Stavanger.

#2 is $20 more, and is 1 hour longer (4 hours rather than 3.) It looks like the choice is whether we should visit the Iron Age Farm and the Ullandhaug viewpoint, or the Stavanger Cathedral and the Utstein Monastery.

I would be happy to hear opinions. I'm trying to make an informed decision. Thank you for your help.

We are doing a 3 night pre-cruise stay in Copenhagen, and then going on the 8 night Norwegian Fjord itinerary. Keep those videos coming, they're great! This trip is to celebrate my husband's 60th birthday (last year), and this itinerary was his choice. I did the research and planning. I hope we like our hotel as much as you liked the Hotel Bethel.

We're going on the Serenade in August, and the videos are really appreciated. Reading people's reviews and descriptions is helpful, but actually seeing things for yourself is even more helpful. It's almost like being there! It also helps me to get (more) excited for the trip. I can't wait to see the rest of your posts.

Tulipbee, or anyone out there who has been on the Serenade in the past week or so,

Can you please check on the daily newsletters and tell us:

What entertainment had only one show at 7:30 and on what nights?

What night is the second formal night? was it the second sea day?

Thank you for your very helpful answers!

I enjoyed it so much I printed out the blogs for future reference, LOL. I'm glad to hear you were able to get something at the pharmacy to give you relief. Thanks for the moisturizer tip, and for the answer about karaoke. Do you know when the second formal night is? On most cruises I've been on, it's been on the second sea day, but I believe it's up to the Captain, and every ship and itinerary can be different. Thanks again for your blog. It's excellent!

Hello,

Thank you so much for your posts. You are answering several of the questions I had. Your pictures are terrific too. I'm sorry to read that you have a cold, but you seem like the kind of person who won't let that ruin their vacation. Please let us all know if you see any shows, and how you like them if you do. Also, is there karaoke? Looking forward to your upcoming posts, and hope you feel better soon.

Hi,

We are going to be on the Serenade in August on an 8 day cruise, and I have a few questions:

1. How many "smart casual" nights will they have The website says jacket and tie for men. Is that really the case? Two formal and two smart casual on an 8 day? Do people really dress up that much?

2. What nights are the formal nights? Other lines I've been on they were typically on the sea days. I ask this so we can figure out which nights to go to alternative restaurants.

3. Is there karaoke? If so, is it every day?

4. Since we don't have any kind of status, we would have to pay $320 for 1 device, if I am reading the website correctly. That seems a little steep, especially if the internet is slow and unreliable. Did I really understand that? One device to be shared by two people? (Or more likely, only one of us could be on the internet at a time.)

Thank you so much for offering to answer questions. I really like the "smaller" ships. It's nice when there is a small enough group of people that folks start looking familiar after a couple of days!

One of my favorite things to do on a cruise is sing karaoke. Can anyone out there tell me about what is offered on the Breakaway? Where, when, how many times per week, and what type of system they use. Answers to any of these will be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Hi Everybody,

My cousin and I are going on the Quantum April 24th sailing. I've been on over 30 cruises, but never on Royal Caribbean. (I know, can you believe it?) So I'm really looking forward to my first ever RCCL cruise. My cousin has never cruised before! Naturally, she's excited, and I'm really looking forward to introducing her to cruising. I'm very happy to see all of the recommendations here.

I do have a question. How often do they have karaoke? I read on Facebook that the roller skates are NOT in-line, which was a great relief to me. I love to skate, but never tried in-line. Thank you for your help.

Ladyarli

Hi,

I've cruised several times out of Manhattan. As others have said, they usually begin boarding at 11:45-ish. So if you arrive a bit before that you can drop your checked luggage with the stevedore and bring your carryon through security, then check in and take your embarkation photo. There is usually water or lemonade available while you're waiting. Lots of chairs are set up, so you can sit down while you wait, at least. Unless they were delayed getting into port, you won't have to wait too long. The rooms usually aren't available until 1:30. We always just go up to the lido deck with our carry ons and have lunch. Then at 1:30 we go to our room and put away the carry on. Then we take the camera and "walk the ship until time for the drill. As others have said, the sail away is nice. I always miss the sail back in. I always seem to sleep through it. (Dang! We're already docked!) have a wonderful cruise!

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My deepest sympathy for your loss.

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Hello,

I've sailed out of NYC many times, never from Galveston. You will find a lot of folks from NY, NJ and CT, and others from all over. Don't be surprised if you meet other Texans! Be sure and go to the sail away if you can, to see the Statue of Liberty (the ship is WAY taller than the statue). Don't expect to get good pictures, because of the angle of the sun when you sail by - shadows. There are certain entertainers who prefer the NY itinerary, so you'll probably see different comedians, etc. Expect different music too, as others have said. I hope you can get a couple of days to see NYC pre or post cruise. The port has been refurbished within the past few years, so is in pretty good shape. Everyone is in a hurry. The iced tea is unsweetened; you have to put in your own sweetener. Oh, about the Splendour- lots of pink all over the ship! Whatever you do, don't rent a car and try to drive in NY! Have a great cruise!

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I really think the CD makes all the difference. In my opinion anyway. Some of my favorites have been Wee Jimmy, Tex, Todd Whittmer, and Jorge Solano. Jorge isn't a CD anymore, but he often performs as a comedian. I've never had Jobn Heald as a CD but I like to. I love his blog!

Cheryl D

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Hi,

Well, you could book through the cruise line, or...I found a link on the Baltimore Cruise website for a shuttle van service that will take you from the ship to the airport or BWI train station. Their web site is http://www.theairportshuttle.com.

Cheryl D.

I was speaking to NorthWest about seat assignments, and I mentioned pineapples. She said that their policy is that each person can bring one box of pineapples, and that they charge $10 for each box. I am thinking that every airline is going to have its own unique policy, and it wouldn't hurt people to double-check beforehand if they know they want to bring home some pineapple.